GrowNYC to Expand Composting Program to 6 More Greenmarkets

Starting on March 5, it will be a lot easier for many New Yorkers to compost their leftover kitchen scraps. GrowNYC already offers compost collections at three Greenmarkets, but at the beginning of March, they will add six new locations: Inwood, Tribeca, Abingdon Square, McCarren Park, Grand Army Plaza, and Brooklyn Borough Hall. The pilot program will run at the new locations through June 25. If successful, they will become permanent drop-off locations.

The program complements the existing composting programs run by GrowNYC’s community partners. The LES Ecology Center offers a composting collection at Union Square; Western Queens Compost Initiative collects in Sunnyside, Jackson Heights; and the Ft. Greene Compost Project collects at the Fort Greene market.

Compost bin contents (photo credit: Andrew King)

According to GrowNYC, food scraps comprise about 17 percent of New York City’s waste stream. When sent to a landfill, the scraps contribute to the city’s disposal costs and create greenhouse gas emissions. GrowNYC will instead transport the scraps to a composting facility, where they will be transformed into fertile soil for local farming projects. New York residents can bring food scraps to the drop-off locations, but GrowNYC can not accommodate scraps from businesses or restaurants.